The Schneeberg, with its high summit ''Klosterwappen'', is the highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

, and the easternmost and northernmost mountain in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

to exceed 2000 m. It is a distinctive

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

massif with steep slopes on three sides. The Schneeberg is one of the Northern Calcareous Alps in the borderland between

and

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

, in the eastern part of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It and the Rax (), some to the south-west, are collectively considered the Viennese Hausberge (Vienna's "local mountains"). The rich

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

x have provided drinking water for

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, via a long pipeline, since 1873, and is claimed to be the best drinking water in the world. On clear days, Schneeberg can be readily seen from parts of Vienna, some away (as the crow flies), from Bratislava in Slovakia and even from Babí Lom above Brno 180 km away. The Schneeberg is a summit with a height of over 1500 m, which just misses the limit for an ultra-prominent peak (1500). A rack-and-pinion railway, the

Schneeberg Railway The Schneeberg Railway () is a local railway line in Lower Austria running from Wiener Neustadt to the Schneeberg (Lower Austria), Hochschneeberg mountain. Location Between Wiener Neustadt and Puchberg am Schneeberg (the main section) it runs ...

, now over 100 years old, climbs to a height of , reducing the walk to the summit to an hour or two. There are also a number of other routes for walkers, including from the spa resort of Puchberg am Schneeberg to the east, or from the south, in Höllental. On the north side of the Schneeberg there is the Fadensteig as an ascent path. For experienced hikers, the path over the Fadensteig is worthwhile. The starting point of the Fadensteig is the Edelweißhütte on the Fadensattel at an altitude of 1,235 m. The summit plateau has a number of

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...

s which are visited by thousands of walkers, climbers and even mountain-bikers each year. There are numerous ski runs, some of them very steep, the most famous of which leads over the Breite Ries.Thomas Rambauske "Skitour zur allerersten alpinen Steilabfahrt" (German: Ski tour to the very first steep alpine descent), Der Standard, 14.March 2014.
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References

External links

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Webcams: Schneeberg - Fischerhütte, Damböckhaus, Losenheim

Bergsteigen.at
with information about climbing routes and huts in the Schneeberg/Rax area Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Lower Austria Rax-Schneeberg Group Two-thousanders of Austria {{LowerAustria-geo-stub